The invention relates to child safety barriers, such as are placed across doorways to protect children.
Safety gates are found in interior doorways and passages in the homes of many people with infants or small children. Some such gates are rigidly mounted to one side of a passage and can swing open. Others, for example, are secured by pressure between opposing vertical surfaces, and removed entirely to allow passage. Improvements in manufacturability, ease of use, and safety are desired for such gates.
In one aspect, the invention features an adjustable width child safety gate. The gate includes a housing mountable to a surface on one side of a passageway and a main shaft coupled to the housing for rotation about an axis. The gate also includes a flexible barrier secured to the main shaft at an inner edge of the barrier. The barrier is extendable across the passageway to inhibit passage by a child. The gate also includes an electrically operable extension lock adapted to prevent extension of the barrier from the housing until electrically unlocked.
Various embodiments have one or more of the following features. The lock permits retraction when locked. The gate includes a barrier stop member coupled to the main shaft and arranged to prevent rotation of the main shaft when locked. The gate includes an electric switch operable to unlock the extension lock. The switch is disposed at a distal end of the flexible barrier. The lock includes a solenoid biased toward a locking position. The lock is disposed within the housing. The lock includes a pawl biased to inhibit rotation of the shaft, and retractable to permit shaft rotation. The gate includes a motion sensor located on the exterior of the device. The motion sensor is responsive to motion only above a predetermined height relative to the device. The gate includes an audible alarm triggered by the motion sensor. The gate includes a radio transmitter triggered by the motion sensor. The gate includes a microphone that releases the lock in response to a recognized verbal command.
The gate includes an intercom disposed on the housing. The gate has a light sensor electrically connected to a light. The gate includes a built in audio device. The gate includes a built in video device. The gate includes a cartoon character depicted on the exterior surface of the barrier. The barrier includes multiple light emitting diodes (LEDs) on the exterior surface of the barrier and a sensor electrically connected to the multiple sensors. The multiple LEDs illuminate when triggered by the sensor. The gate includes a noise generating device electrically connected to the sensor.
In another aspect, the invention features a method of selectively blocking a passageway to inhibit passage by a child. The method includes attaching a barrier housing to a structural element on one side of the passageway. The barrier housing contains a retractable barrier extendable across the passageway. The method also includes manually operating an electrical switch to release a barrier extension lock; extending the barrier a desired distance from the barrier housing with the extension lock released; releasably securing a distal end of the barrier to an opposite side of the passageway; and releasing the electrical switch to engage the barrier extension lock to inhibit further extension of the barrier.
Various embodiments include one or more of the following features. The switch is released after the distal end of the barrier is secured to the opposite side of the passageway. The switch is disposed adjacent the distal end of the barrier. Operating the switch includes depressing a lock release trigger. The trigger is mechanically coupled to a latch at the distal end of the barrier for releasably securing the barrier to the opposite side of the passageway, such that operating the trigger operates both the switch and the latch. The method includes operating the trigger to release both the lock and the latch, and then retracting the barrier into the housing.
In another aspect the invention features a child safety gate that is releasably securable across a passageway to form a barrier of height sufficient to block passage of young children. The gate includes an interactive visual display that has a light electrically connected to a power source and positioned on the barrier and a sensor electrically connected to the light.
Various embodiments have one or more of the following features. The gate includes a housing mountable to a surface on one side of the passageway; a main shaft coupled to the housing for rotation about an axis; a flexible barrier, which extends across the passageway to inhibit passage by the child and is secured to the main shaft at an inner edge of the barrier; and an electrically operable extension lock adapted to prevent extension of the barrier from the housing until electrically unlocked. The lock permits retraction when locked. The gate includes a barrier stop member coupled to the main shaft and arranged to prevent rotation of the main shaft when locked. The gate includes an electric switch operable to unlock the extension lock. The switch is disposed at a distal end of the flexible barrier. The lock includes a solenoid biased toward a locking position. The lock is disposed within the housing. The power source includes a battery enclosed within the gate. The power source includes a cord to plug into a wall outlet. The sensor is responsive to a sound of the child. The sensor is responsive to a touch of the child. The sensor is responsive to a movement of the child. The gate includes a sound device that is connected to the sensor and produces sound when engaged by the sensor.
According to another aspect of the invention, a child safety gate has an interactive display on at least one side of the gate, at a level to be visible and responsive to a child standing adjacent the gate. The gate can have a retractable, flexible barrier with the display mounted on, or incorporated in, a surface of the barrier, for example. Preferably, such a display will include both child-activatable switches and either audible or visual feedback to activation of such switches.
According to another aspect of the invention, a retractable window shade assembly includes a flexible shade rolled about a main shaft. The assembly also includes a retraction release latch and a spring connected to the main shaft to recoil the barrier about the shaft when the release latch is released with the barrier in an extended position. The release latch includes an electrically activatable solenoid that, when energized, releases the latch. A switch disposed near a distal end of the shade is manually operable by a user, with the shade in its extended position, to release the latch for shade retraction. In some cases, the solenoid is powered by batteries contained within the shade assembly. In some other cases, the shade assembly is wired into an AC power source, such as a wall circuit of a residence in which the shade is installed.
Various aspects of the invention can provide advantages in the function and convenience of barrier devices and retractable structures. For example, in the context of retractable child safety gates the inclusion of an electrically-powered lock release can provide a reliable means of inhibiting unintended barrier extension. Electrically powered status indicators, such as lights, are useful for clearly signaling the status of the latch mechanism and the extension release mechanism. Motion and proximity sensor integration with a child safety gate provides particular advantage, enabling the gate to respond to the presence of a child, for example. A gate with child-monitoring capability can assist a remote adult in monitoring children confined by the gate. Furthermore, interactive displays and sensors can help to entertain a child blocked or confined by a barrier gate, particularly as children discontent with being confined will tend to gravitate toward the gate and can there be distracted as well as mentally stimulated by such displays. Other advantages and features will be apparent from the following drawing description and claims.